All State and Territory governments have signed on to the Australian Government's $970 million Universal Access to early childhood education initiative. The Universal Access initiative will ensure that by 2013, all children will have access to 15 hours a week of quality early childhood education delivered by a university-trained early childhood education teacher for 40 weeks a year, in the year before they start school. States and territories will use funding to boost the number of available places, increase the number of contact hours and reduce the costs of early childhood education for parents. DEEWR, 17 September 2009.